“The derby win was very important to get us back on track. I got angry on Fiorentina’s second goal because a metre or so on the field can really change a situation,” said the Coach and former defender.

“Before the game I had told my lads that the Viola would cause us problems, but that we could hurt them with counter-attacks.

“It remains a great performance, also in terms of spirit, but we should’ve been smarter when marking them from set plays.”

The last few results have been achieved despite a striker shortage at Samp, though a star is born in 19-year-old Mauro Icardi.

“Icardi is helping us a great deal, as he creates problems for opposition defences and works very hard.”